Hey, above you!
Waves about to...
Verified on here
Waves about to...
Terrified, aren't you?

A major repair is underway
Where am I?
A major repair is underway
Where am I?
Require a blanket of silence
Where am I?

The Yellow Ones, Pinback

The hot water turned her milky skin red. The steam made the tendrils of her black hair curl and stick to her face. Taking long, leisurely baths was her new tradition. There was nothing else to do, besides.

Scarlett lowered herself in the burning water, and her thoughts cleared.

-

She was not sure if it was the alcohol talking, but her wedding ring seemed to sparkle much more brightly under the candlelight and reflection of the water. Submerged on her stomach, she watched the diamonds sparkle as her dark hair cascaded and swirled around her fingers. She did not care that suddenly the water was fiercely cold, and even under the water her teeth were chattering. It was such a beautiful feeling to just float, literally and figuratively.

But her reverie was so suddenly shattered that she hardly had time to understand what had happened. A violent tug on her hair sent her spluttering up from the water, and iron-like fingers clawed at her shoulders, pulling her bodily out of the tub. She shrieked, sucking water into her lungs. And then she was sprawled, coughing on the cold marble floor.

"You're alive," said Rhett raggedly, rubbing her cheek harshly with his shaking palm. His suit jacket was soaking from the elbows up, his hair was unkempt, and his face was as pale as death. "I saw you- I thought you'd-" he stopped, breathing short, quick breaths on his hands and knees.

Anger and adrenaline took over Scarlett's fear.

"You thought I'd what, Rhett? Drowned myself in the goddamned bathtub?" She wiped her matted hair away from her eyes.

Rhett's contorted face turned stormy, and he pushed himself up off his hands, anger replacing concern. "Forgive me for caring enough to-" he began hotly, but Scarlett's shrill laugh interrupted him.

"Care? Why Rhett Butler, how sweet of you! My darling husband comes home after two years away to prove he cares by wrenching me out of my bath!" She threw up her hands and looked around, 

as if to elicit sympathy from an imaginary audience. He opened his mouth to retort something, anything, when the fire in her eyes changed, and she stared up at him with such longing Rhett had to look away.

"You're partly right, Rhett. I can't live without you. Sometimes I do think dying is better than being alone." Abruptly, tears sparkled at her eyes. She reached for his pants leg but he sidestepped her.

"They told me you'd gone mad," he said to her, watching her curiously. Scarlett, still on her knees and soaked, crossed her arms over her chest.

"Do I look crazed to you?"

He said nothing, but glanced pointedly at the man's white dress shirt she wore, which clung to her body and fell over her knees and down past her hands. She glanced down at herself and scowled. She'd forgotten she had it on when she'd gotten into the tub.

"That water was freezing," said Rhett, breaking the silence. "Take that off and warm yourself up. I'll be back." He swiveled around and out of the room. Scarlett scrambled to pull herself up, and jogged behind him, tugging on his arm.

"Wait, Rhett! Where are you going? Don't leave me!" He turned to her and smirked, not entirely unkindly.

"Don't worry, my pet. I'm only going to get changed." Scarlett gasped.

"Not- not in your room?"

"Yes, in my room. Where do you expect me to go?" Scarlett was panicked. She trailed him out into the hallway.

"You musn't go in there, Rhett. I've- I've been remodeling it! Take your things to the guest room!" She ducked under his arm and pushed in front of him, barring him from the door.

"Remodeling, eh?" He chuckled. "Well, mind if I take a look?"

"No!" She threw her arms out to stop him. "I mean- yes, I do mind. It's a surprise."

Rhett stiffened suddenly, and his eyes clouded over. "What is it you're trying so desperately to hide, Scarlett? You are not a good liar, my dear. What is it?" She did not answer him, and her eyes would not meet his own.

"Have you got a man in there, darling? Is dear Mr. Wilkes lounging in my bed at this very moment? No, I'm not surprised at you. I expected it, rather. Let me by." She did so, shrugging aside as he opened the heavy wood door. What would Rhett think of her now?

Scarlett stood behind him as their eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room. She covered her eyes. She could not bear to look at his face.

-

She heard his sudden intake of breath, and the scuff of his shoes as he moved about the room.

"Scarlett," he said finally, and she reluctantly pulled her hands from her face. He stood in the middle of the room, holding the ashtray in front of him. "Have you been smoking my cigars?" There was a note of incredulousness in his voice.

"Burning them," answered Scarlett. Her voice cracked. "So I could smell like you."

"And my clothing?" he asked, setting the ashtray on the table and moving to the closet, where pants and shirts and ties were thrown about and in piles on the floor.

"I do wear those," confessed Scarlett, gesturing to herself. Then she shivered. Her soaked, freezing shirt- rather, Rhett's soaked, freezing shirt- was making her teeth chatter. Rhett reacted immediately, grimacing before picking up his own bathrobe from the foot of the unkempt bed.

"Take that off," he ordered her, and she did as she was told, pulling it over her head and letting it fall with a thud in a wet heap on the floor. He looked away from her and handed her the robe, which she wrapped around herself, tying it securely around her little waist. She yawned.

"Rhett," she said, climbing into his bed. It was no use to try and hide it anymore. She breathed into the pillow. The night before she'd dowsed the sheets with his cologne.

And now he was here, in the flesh.

"Hmm?" his voice sounded so faraway, although he was only standing at the foot of the bed.

"Would you lie here with me?"

"No," said Rhett decidedly. "I'll tuck you in." He was at the side of the bed, and she snuggled into the blankets as he tucked them around her. He smelled differently, now that he had been away.

Scarlett preferred the old scent.

--For more information on the continuation and inspiration for this story, as well as my other stories, please visit my profile page--